TRIP CATEGORY:

CapeRace CULINARY & Fogo Island Inn

TRIP OVERVIEW:

A Gastro-Cultural Experience: Eight days of culinary intrigue for the curious diner. We are using food as a conduit to crossing cultural barriers, allowing travellers to peer further into the rich Newfoundland cultural scene. We've partnered with Fogo Island Inn to create the ultimate culinary cultural travel experience.

St. John's is a secret foodie capital, with unparalleled cuisine inspired by the New Nordic movement that Copenhagen and Stockholm embraced ten years ago. It's the closest city to Europe and has similar variations of the local flora that first inspired Scandinavian chefs to forage in their backyards. The same wealth of wild edibles has inspired local Newfoundland chefs to embrace their striking coastal landscape and rich heritage while adding their own contemporary twist, putting Newfoundland's culinary scene on the map. Ingredients evoke landscapes, recipes recall history and certain dishes can unlock the very essence of a place and its people".

Your foodie adventure will be steeped in local characters, spectacular wildlife and wide-ranging memorable dining experiences, from the exquisite to the Anthony Bourdain-style edgy. Multiple traveller pricing available. *Fogo Island Inn requires a three night minimum from July 1st to August 27th, extending the overall trip from 8 days to 9 days. See trip details.

"... His company, CapeRace Cultural Adventures - the only one of its kind in Canada- offers what a gag certificate cannot: Admission to the inner circles of outport communities up and down Newfoundland's eastern shore, and the chance to have an uncanned, unpredictable experience of place..." James Glave, Globe & Mail

Book an Adventure

Ingredients evoke landscapes, recipes recall history and certain dishes can unlock the very essence of a place and its people".

Get under the skin of Newfoundland. Your stay begins on the breathtaking Avalon and Bonavista Peninsulas and concludes at Fogo Island. It's a gastro-cultural adventure that your senses will never forget. Your trip will be steeped in local characters, spectacular wildlife and wide-ranging memorable dining experiences, from the exquisite to the edgy. We have based the CapeRace Culinary Adventure on our award-winning original Eco-Culture Experience™ trip. While traveling from St. John’s to Fogo Island, our custom written personal travel guidebook will lead you to many gastro-cultural experiences powered by colourful characters, local fun, indigenous music and cultural surprises that you'll only ever experience in Newfoundland.

Meet renowned Newfoundland chefs such as Todd Perrin, (Canada’s Top Chef contestant) of Mallard Restaurant and Jeremy Charles of award-winning Raymond's Fine Dining along with Murray McDonald from the Fogo Island Inn. Find out why the top chefs use wild rabbit and moose and foraged berries or be the judge of the best fish & chips in town, a battle raging between two St. John's restaurants that have sat side by side since 1951. Drop in on a 75-year old family business that still serves up take-out baked turkey legs over an ancient counter. Tour the QV Craft Brewery at Quidi Vidi Village and taste many of their craft beers including QV Iceberg Beer, made from 30,000 year old glacial ice. Walk in on their weekly ocean-side kitchen party held every Friday afternoon.

Backstage Kitchen Pass

While in the coastal outports your custom guidebook will lead you to simple-kitchen gems set in idyllic wilderness settings. Take in a day of coastal hiking, visit the local art galleries, take a boat to get close to the whales or sample local beer at a famous Newfoundland pub. Enjoy a coastal outdoor lunch overlooking towering icebergs, breaching whales and gigantic seabirds then settle in for the night at one of our charming and cozy coastal homes.

Fogo Island Inn

The perfect ending to this culinary cultural trip will be a stay at the world-renowned Fogo Island Inn, known as a place of wood-burning stoves, wry humor, dramatic seascapes and sensible luxury. Each guest suite is a contemporary expression of traditional outport design and decor: "handmade modern." You'll have a half day orientation with a dedicated community host and full use of the Inn's facilities: cinema, sauna, contemporary art gallery, gym and yoga space, heritage library, bicycles for independent exploration, use of storm weather gear and rubber boots, and binoculars in each suite. All of the Inn’s rooms were created using only natural materials such as wood, wool, cotton, and linen and all furniture and textiles were custom designed, locally crafted. The only plastic in the guest rooms is the telephone.

Your culinary experience here at the Inn reflects traditional cultural norms. Fogo Islanders have historically hunted, grown, foraged, and caught their food both out of necessity and for pleasure. The Inn carries on these traditions by foraging for berries, supporting local growers and fishers, and exploring the barrens surrounding the Inn in search of the perfect garnish for the spectacular culinary creations. Savoring Fogo Island Inn’s food is a cultural experience combining the best of Fogo Island’s customary foodways with the exciting forward-thinking of contemporary cuisine.

Fogo Island spans about 35 kilometres from east to west and 24 kilometres from north to south with 2,395 people living in 10 distinct communities. The Island boasts countless plant and animal species that thrive in its untamed wilderness. Although located just over halfway between the equator and the North Pole, the Labrador Current passing by Fogo Island's doorstep brings with it the makings for a subarctic landscape and a temperate maritime climate. The Island's boreal forest plays host to herds of caribou, beavers, foxes, mosses, grasses, and wildflowers. Migrating whales and icebergs visit in the spring, and fall’s berry season finds Fogo Island carpeted in at least two dozen varieties of edible berries.

What's Included:

Seven nights accommodation.

Exclusive use of two CapeRace properties; three nights Hare's Ears Cottage at St. John's, two nights Thomas Mouland House at Bonavista. Basic household amenities, fresh linens, towels.

Fridge with local specialty items at Hare's Ears Cottage included in package price.

Full use of all facilities within the Fogo Island Inn: cinema screenings, sauna, contemporary art gallery, gym, and heritage library.

Children 12 and under dine for free at the Fogo Island Inn. Persons travelling with children may require a room upgrade to accommodate more than two persons depending on child's age. Pricing based on double occupancy.

Quidi Vidi Craft Brewery tour and beer tasting session.

One copy of "Traveller's Diary, A Backstage Kitchen-pass to Eastern Newfoundland", written by CapeRace with fresh contributions from previous CapeRace travellers

Unlimited km/mi full-size standard rental vehicle; pickup St. John's International Airport, drop off Gander International Airport. Vehicle drop off fees. Second vehicle included (priced in) for groups larger than four adults. Upgrades for larger vehicles available at traveller expense.

What's not Included:

Air transportation. We can provide you with important advice on how to secure the best air fares. Great direct flights from New York (3 hours, from $250) Toronto (3 hours from $250) and most Canadian cities.

Alcohol and gratuity over 15%

Travel insurance. Travel insurance can be purchased at your local bank.

Boat tours and activities. We can make suggestions and take care of bookings for great side trips and tours. Most of our recommendations are for activities that carry no charge. Outdoor activity opportunities change with the seasons. It does not snow in the pubs.

Note that Children 12 and under stay for free at the Fogo Island Inn. Children 13 and older may require a room and meal upgrade at additional cost.

Day 1-4 St. John's

On the first stop on your culinary adventure, you’ll have reservations at the city’s most exciting dining destinations: One is helmed by a Top Chef Canada fan favourite; the other was named Canada’s best new restaurant—and best restaurant, period—by the country’s leading food critics. We’ll guide you towards many other local gems too, so you can sample everything from fresh seafood to traditional baked goods to vegetarian dishes for the rest of your time in town. St. John's is Newfoundland’s capital city—a place with a "San Francisco meets Dublin" vibe. You’ll spend three nights there, based at Hare's Ears Cottage, a light-filled restored heritage cottage overlooking the sea, in the Battery, one of the oldest—and most colourful—neighbourhoods in St. John's. Hare's Ears is a short hike from Signal Hill National Historic Park, via the North Head Trail, which starts quite literally at your doorstep. For three to four days you spend here in North America’s oldest city, you can listen to live Celtic music, hike the extensive coastal trail system or simply head to the independent boutiques and crafters’ studios to find one-of-a-kind souvenirs.

Day 4-6 Bonavista

After St. John's you’ll be based in Bonavista and booked in for eclectic local dining experiences, including: homemade tea-shop treats, spectacular desserts in a restored seafront heritage site and rustic cuisine, in a restaurant with its own wood-burning pizza oven, on-site farm and the most glorious views across the bay. The Bonavista Peninsula has exploded overnight, boasting new craft breweries, coffee shops and unique dining venues, all set in an untouched and sparsley populated coastal wonder. On your way, along the Discovery Trail, you’ll be treated to breathtaking ocean views, rugged scenery, lighthouses and with any luck, icebergs and whales. Bonavista is a bustling fishing village of 3,500 people, and it will be your home base for two nights. You’ll sleep at Thomas Mouland House, right on the ocean—it’s a charming restored 19th-century fisher's house. For two to three days, you can explore nearby outport communities, such as postcard-pretty Trinity, Kings Cove and Maberly. There’s a vibrant local theatre scene—with outdoor productions in the warmer months—and ancient coastal fisherman's trails to hike, as well as abandoned communities to discover by boat.

Day 6-8 Fogo Island Inn, Fogo Island

Finally, on Fogo Island, you’ll feast on award-winning dishes—created with wild plants and berries, game and fresh-off-the-boat seafood—prepared by Chef Murray and his team at the Inn. You’ll also check out some other interesting places on the island, offering mouth-watering traditional fare. Arriving her—at the most north-eastern point of Canada’s most north-eastern province—feels like reaching the edge of the world. In fact, the Flat Earth Society believes Fogo Island is one of the corners of the flat Earth. For two nights, you’ll revel in the quiet luxuries of Fogo Island Inn, a property at the heart of a new Newfoundland cultural movement, bringing together: artists, designers, architects, geologists, academics, fishers, artisans, growers and chefs. You’ll have two to three days to discover this fishing outport, with a population of 2,400, that’s reinventing itself as an international geotourism destination. You can visit the Irish community of Tilting, with its green-trimmed white clapboard houses, grass-roofed root cellars and salt-blistered fishing stages.

Day 8 - Depart

Depart Fogo for either Gander or St. John's International airports.

All tours and activities taken outside of the CapeRace Cultural Adventures Inc. tour are undertaken at the risk and expense of the traveller. The tour is a cultural adventure that will take you to remote areas which may not offer all of the conveniences/services found at home. Personal insurance is mandatory—and not included. Be sure to ask lots of questions if you have critical needs or certain services that are generally available in urban centers. Not suitable for any type of Recreational Vehicle (RV) travel. See our Terms & Conditions & Privacy Policy

Trip Extensions

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Extensions

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Spend a day living off the land with Lori. Enjoy a coastal lunch made over an open fire.

Experience our food, culture and people. Join Lori, a third generation Newfoundlander, to walk and forage through our woods and onto our beaches.
She'll prepare some heritage foods around an open fire; sharing traditions about the food culture of our place. Depending on the time of year, you can look forward to sampling Labrador arctic char, moose, mussels, cod or smoked mackerel. This is one of Newfoundland and Labrador’s most treasured traditions: The Boil-Up. It simply means a spot of lunch and a cuppa tea boiled up over a fire. 3-4 Hour duration. Hiking, limited bathroom facilities. Children under 8 years of age $50. I hour drive from St. John's. Subject to availability.

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$161 CAD

Add a night at Fogo Island Inn

This year Fogo Island Inn has created a three night minimum stay between July 1st and August 27. If you plan to purchase a CapeRace Culinary + Fogo Island Inn trip between those dates please add an additional night.

$1875 CAD

Cod Fishing

Newfoundland and Labrador has a close connection to the Sea. It is built upon a tradition of not just fishing, but building little wooden boats in the shed over a long cold winter. The fishing families of Petty Harbour have kept their harbour free of gill nets. Even today, cod is fished by hand, one by one with a single line and hook. Experience this proud tradition. Find the location of a fishing berth that has been kept secret from father to son for generations. Catch your cod, learn to fillet, and then prepare your own pan fried cod with scrunchions. We partner with a non-profit organization that is a non-profit social enterprise dedicated to living, sharing, and celebrating the traditional fishing knowledge and culture that sustained generations of Newfoundlanders.
Important Note- The recreational fishery season dates are announced in May. Once booked, we will schedule your outing and will update you on the fishery season open and close. If your trip does not fall within the dates we will refund your payment. This non-profit will sell out, and it operates on a first-come first-serve basis so it's important to book early.

If you are on a CapeRace package that includes the Fogo Island Inn you can upgrade your room from the Labrador Suite to the Family Suite. These suites offer possibilities for two to four persons. Family suites can be configured with a sitting room, a second bedroom, or a workspace. All have a bath, walk-in shower, and wood stove.
*CapeRace does not mark up Fogo Island Inn rates.

$2400 CAD

Customize Your Guidebook

CapeRace travel experts will spend as much time with you as required to customize your Traveller's Diary. While the guidebook is written by us specifically for the CapeRace trip, we can further customize it to suit your specific travel style. The guidebook would be demanded printed for your exclusive use. We can also plan your itinerary and make recommendations for trip extensions to Gros Morne and Labrador, as well as make suggestions on flights.

This coastal home on St. John's harbour is the most easterly guest house in North America. It shares the property line with Signal Hill national park and has door-step access to the Signal Hill hiking and walking trails. Nestled in the cliffs of the popular Outer Battery Village, the house is just 30 feet from the ocean and one minute from the park, three minutes from downtown by car and twelve minutes by foot. It has a deck with gas bbq, panoramic views of the harbour & city skyline, and a southern exposure. The Outer Battery is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in the city and still maintains the look and feel of a small fishing village. Bald Eagles nesting near property. With an independent ground floor studio, it is configured for the multi-generational traveller and great for those who want the option of indepedence from their travelling companions.

This coastal home was named after its original owner who survived the great Newfoundland Sealing disaster of 1914. The Thomas Mouland House is celebrated for both age and architecture. The home was restored in 2006, and resides in the historic Mockbeggar neighbourhood of Bonavista, the province's largest fishing village still in operation. (pop 3000) It is located on the Discovery Driving Trail, three hours from St. John's. With the exception of a few necessary alterations, the structural integrity has been beautifully preserved. The Thomas Mouland House is a four minute walk from Walkham's Gate Pub & Restaurant, a daily visit and sometimes basecamp for most CapeRace travelers. Featured in Romantics Home magazine.

This is a lodge with a soul, filled with the handiwork of the local people: traditional outport furniture, handcrafted quilts, and woven rugs—once-disappearing arts now given new life and purpose.

The Fogo Island Inn is the culmination of a major community revitalization project. The building’s rugged minimalist architecture balances traditional influences with a contemporary sensibility, which architect Todd Saunders has made and built just for Fogo. A cultural destination in its own right where visitors and locals meet, the Inn includes an art gallery, heritage library, cinema and rooftop sauna. Each of the 29 guest rooms is unique, with every detail chosen with purpose and handcrafted by locals.

The Inn is a great feat of contemporary architecture, all stilts, angles, and vertical lines that contrast with the rough slabs of ancieant granite that surround it. But as much as it might stand out in its setting, the inn is integrally part of Fogo Island. This is a lodge with a soul, filled with the handiwork of the local people: traditional outport furniture, handcrafted quilts, and woven rugs—once-disappearing arts now given new life and purpose.

Zita Cobb, the founder of the Fogo Island Inn, grew up on the island and went on to make her fortune in high-tech communications, has recently been helping locals create a geotourism industry through her foundation, Shorefast. Fogo Island now has an internationally acclaimed artist residency program, a brand new inn and several thriving micro-businesses. Local entrepreneurs are doing everything from cultivating organic crops on the edge of the Atlantic to selling patchwork quilts to taking visitors out cod jigging.

The Traveller's Diary: A bookstore quality Guidebook written annually by CapeRace to suit your travel style

Jonathan Tourtellot, Fellow, National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations: ". ..Things you (CapeRace) have done involving people are truly trailblazing. I don't know of anyone, anywhere that has figured out such a great way to get tourists in contact with local people..."

Your secret weapon. We are the only travel company that initiates real connections with the local community in a self-guided travel format. Seasoned travellers know that technology has destroyed the printed old-school travel guide. It's been replaced by Trip-Advisor type "opinion" and paid-for, commercially influenced blogs. Mobile apps have also largely failed in this area. We have used technology to improve the old-school guidebook.

Just how do we do it?

First, CapeRace believes the two major factors that impact the enjoyment of an adventure is spontaneity and time management. You simply need to allocate enough discretionary time to allow unplanned situations and interactions to influence your trip. This creates the sense of exploration and discovery. It's particularly important in Newfoundland to minimize your vehicle commute-time and maximize your commute-explore time. This is a challenge when touring the expansive island, as Newfoundland is a driving vacation. Many lose their trip to their car and return home with pictures taken through a bug-splattered window.

The CapeRace-written guidebook gets local. We write about people and places in your specific neighbourhood and recommend activities within 1.5-2 hours of each house. This creates a virtual "perimeter around the playground" and gets you back to your coastal home's deck for cocktail hour, just in time to watch the whales and magnificent sunsets.

Adventure Through People

Second, it is our strong belief that connecting with the local community produces the best travel experience. That memorable heart-felt and life-changing travel experiences occur off the standard tourist beat and with a sense of the unknown and discovery. We specifically write the guidebook in a way that changes the odds and nature of chance meetings of colourful characters, all set in a spectacular scenic backdrop. Through hidden agendas, the Traveller's Diary will lead you to a situation, but it is up to you to make the exchange happen through the development of your own relationship with the people you will encounter. It's all by chance, which creates the true, meaningful and most important, fun experience. This is the concept that caught National Geographic's attention and urged them to take the trip.

Responsible Travel

We use technology to quickly update the travel guide, swapping people and places in and out of the book as we discover new areas to explore and new people to meet. This dilutes the overall traveller's footprint and spreads out the economic benefit in rural areas.

If you would like to have the "Traveller's Diary" customized to your specific travel style, we can edit and demand print a guide unique to you and your travelling group for a nominal charge.

Using new publication technology we can professionally demand-print single personalized copies of the travel guide. With our knowledge of your destination and a good understanding of where you stand on the Eco-Culture scale, we can demand-print one unique copy of the guide book, specifically for you. The Traveller's Diary creates that sense of adventure sometimes lost in large-scale tourism, that opportunity to truly connect with a person or place in a meaningful way. Contact us if you would like us to personalize your itinerary

Question:

What is CapeRace Cultural Adventures?

Answer:

A boutique travel company specializing in authentic self-guided travel experiences at Canada’s most eastern island of Newfoundland.

Question:

Where are the coastal homes located?

Answer:

CapeRace has six coastal homes that are used for different trips. The Eco-Culture Experience 10-Day trip utilizes three, the 7-Day uses two. Two houses are located in the Battery neighbourhood of St. John's at Signal Hill, two in the small quiet town of Heart's Delight at Trinity Bay and two are located on the Bonavista Peninsula, either at the Mockbeggar neighbourhood in the town of Bonavista, or in the small town of Elliston.

Question:

What does CapeRace offer?

Answer:

CapeRace offers outdoorsy, soft adventure, meaningful travel packages that bring Newfoundland’s rich history, performing arts, and the pristine wilderness together to create what we call an "Eco-Culture Experience"™. This occurs at the intersection of Newfoundland's unique cultural heritage, amazing wildlife and scenic wonders. It appeals to the mind and soul of the curious traveler and ensures the self-guided experience is filled with a sense of personal meaning and accomplishment. Sense of place, or geographical character of our destinations is highlighted through the encouragement of traveler participation in the local community in an authentic, sustainable setting.

Question:

How does the tour package work?

Answer:

CapeRace will give you a key that fits the locks of two or three newly restored homes situated in spectacular coastal locations, an unlimited milage vehicle, and a self-published commercial-grade guidebook written specifically for the CapeRace trip. In some cases we customize or extend these trips and access third-party accommodation. Travellers stay at two or three authentic indigenous homes on an exclusive–use basis, and use the self-directing "Traveller's Diary" to explore unique and out-of-the-way nature sites, pubs, and music venues - recommending activities that will inspire the traveler to become part of three local communities. Each are located within a three hour proximity, and offer a different take of Newfoundland lifestyle and culture. It is a flexible self-driving, self-guiding circuit-tour that offers the opportunity to experience cultural and ecological discovery at one’s own pace, on one’s own terms. For eample, guests on the 10-Day trip travel in a circuit tour, staying three nights in St. John’s, three nights in Heart’s Delight, and three nights in Bonavista/Elliston. Guests on the 7-Day trip travel in a circuit tour, staying three nights in St. John’s and three nights in Bonavista.

Question:

What makes CapeRace Cultural Adventures different?

Answer:

What makes CapeRace different from other tour operators is that we capture a balanced combination of the unique cultural heritage and spectacular scenic coastline, and package it up into a non-staged, experience. Our unique approach allows the traveler to become part of the local community, and can witness Newfoundland’s scenic wonders through the eyes of the locals. Most tour companies outsource their accommodations. Because CapeRace owns the three coastal homes, consistent high quality amenities are ensured across all three houses—including the most import—very high-end beds. Travellers stay in neighbourhoods exclusively in their own restored historic coastal homes. They become part of three very different communities. All houses are consistent, and are restored and outfitted to a common standard. New beds, new bed linen, new kitchenware, new paint- and ultra clean- no disappointing accommodation that happens when booking on the fly. All have a large outdoor deck with bbq and grand view of the ocean. All houses are architecturally different, and all offer a completely different take on Newfoundland living and lifestyle; creating a new and unique environment every three-five days. CapeRace takes the difficult and anxiety-causing task of planning out of the travel effort without effecting spontaneity or authenticity aspects of the experience. Travellers are self-directed and make all decisions. There is no “force-fed’ itinerary. The flexible self-driving, self-catering circuit-tour provides the opportunity to experience cultural and ecological discovery at one's own pace, on ones own terms. Not only are the actual destinations spectacular, but the road trip between the destinations is a large part of the adventure. The CapeRace tour creates time “safety-net” through its inherent itinerary--- set only by the home location and stay-duration.

Question:

Your trips are self-guided. Can we hire a guide through you?

Answer:

Yes- we have access to guides for all of our trips. Labrador extensions have guides included in the overall price. Guides can be hired through your outfitter for the Gros Morne Park extension.

Question:

Tell me more about the Custom Guidebook known as “The Traveller’s Diary”

Answer:

CapeRace is the only travel company that transparently initiates real connections with the local community in a self-guided, unscripted travel format. The travel guide is the vehicle we use to allow this to occur. A The guidebook is a crucial part of the overall CapeRace experience. It is the key enabler that allows us to deliver on the promise of a true Newfoundland experience experience. It is our strong belief that responsible travel ultimately produces the best travel experience--that memorable heart-felt and life-changing travel experiences occur without the intervention of a tour operator and without the deployment of intrusive traditional travel products and services. We deliver an enriched cultural tourism experience by creating a situation whereby our customers establish their own relationships with local people, without third party intervention. The “Traveller’s Diary” is a commercial-grade travel guidebook written specifically for the CapeRace Eco-Culture Experience and CapeRace Culinary tours, targeted at the Avalon and Bonavista Peninsulas and Fogo Island.

Question:

So why is this special?

Answer:

The guide self-directs the traveller not only to the popular sights in the vicinity of the three homes, but also to the unique and out of the way pubs, nature sites, shops and heritage sites that are not well known to the average sightseer. The travel guide covertly leads the guest to a potential cultural interaction, but it is up to the guest to make the exchange happen through the development of their own relationship. For example, the guidebook directs guests to the historic barbershop on Duckworth Street to see the numerous photographs of old St. John’s that hang on the wall. It’s our hidden agenda to have them meet the barber who has been cutting hair there for fifty years, knowing he would be able to recount the history of St. John’s much better than the pictures. Our ultimate objective to have the traveller purchase a haircut. Once you decide to go into the shop- you own the relationship that may transpire with the barber. Using new information technology we can professionally demand-print the travel guide. This has several major impacts; first, it allows the travel guide to be updated in near-real-time, to the point that we can print a new book for each traveling group. As CapeRace and our customers meet more interesting people, and visit more unique places, we evolve the guidebook to ensure the next traveller’s experience maintains originality, spontaneity, and authenticity. This allows us to get our guests to the sites long before they become popular- providing the most authentic experience and in a less crowded environment.

Question:

How many copies of the book are supplied per trip?

Answer:

One book per travelling party is provided. Additional books can be purchased for the cost of printing, or $80 cdn.

Question:

Do you offer Group or Mulit-Family pricing?

Answer:

Yes. You can see the multi-traveller pricing under the Booking Dates tabs under ADVENTURES. If booked well in advance we may be able to offer side-by-side trips that can provide accomodation for twelve travellers.

Question:

Where are the coastal homes located?

Answer:

Each is located within a 2-3 hour proximity of each other and offer a different measure of Newfoundland's intriguing cultural, scenic, and sporting assets. The tour starts in St. John’s and moves around the Avalon and Bonavista Peninsulas. The 10-Day traveller stays in St. John's and Heart’s Delight; 1 ¼ hours from St. John’s. They then travel on to Elliston/Bonavista Peninsula, a three hour drive from Heart's Delight. The 7-Day travller skips Heart's Delight and proceeds directly to Bonavista.

Question:

When should we book?

Answer:

The majority of our spring and summer trips are sold from January through July. You can check availability under the BOOKING DATES tab under ADVENTURES. Booking early will provide you with more choice for departure dates such as weekend or mid-week departures.

Question:

What about flights?

Answer:

For CapeRace Eco-Culture Experience trips, 7-Day and 10-Day, we recommed taking the earliest flight into St. John's International Airport and a late afternoon or evening departure flight out of St. John's International Airport. Its a three hour trip from Bonavista to the St. John's airport with little chance of delay on the highway. For the CapeRace Culinay trip, we recommed taking the earliest flight into St. John's International Airport and an afternoon departure flight out of Gander International Airport. For any extensions to Gros Morne or Labrador, you will need to book your departure flight out of Deer Lake Airport. Watch for seat sales. If you book your trips well in advance, you will find cheap flights. For example, flights from Toronto may be secured for $450 return, tax-in, if you have at least three month lead time. Charter flights, including both fixed-wing and helicopter are available and have the ability to land at Fogo Island.

Question:

But I want to see more of Newfoundland- including Gros Morne on the west coast?

Answer:

Sure. Check our TRIP EXTENSION section under each trip. We offer three night extensions to Gros Morne and can customize a trip extension for you. Most Labrador tours depart on Fridays, however, we can make arrangements for customstart dates. Contact us for more details.

Question:

How often does the trip depart?

Answer:

Departure dates every four days from April through October.

Question:

Can we extend?

Answer:

Yes. CapeRace has properties not listed on this site. We offer packaged extensions and also market trips via CapeRace Custom. For custom trips please contact us to disucss options. There are many.

Question:

How can we pay?

Answer:

We take payments by certified cheque, bank draft, email funds transfer, VISA, Mastercard, and American Express. We recommend you check the transaction fees charged to you by your credit card company and balance and charges this with the travel bennefits your card provides.

Question:

What about the vehicle rentals and services offered by credit card companies?

Answer:

While the cost of the rental vehicle IS calculated and included in the overall price of your trip, National Car Rental corporate policy dictates the driver contract with them directly for the duration of the trip. You will not be charged by National Car Rental when you pick up your vehicle, however, the driver will be required to sign a contract. Upon return of the rental vehicle damage-free, the driver will be released fom any agreements made after payment for expenses such as tolls, fuel, traffic violations, GPS rental, and parking tickets. The driver is responsible for vehicle insurance for the duration of the rental. Note that most premium credit cards offer services such as trip cancellation, trip accident, and rental vehcile insurance coverage. We recommend you understand the breadth of services are offered, the terms of those services and if there are transaction fees associated with your trip purchase. We're happy to discuss our experiences with credit card transactions and alternative methods of payment.

Question:

What are your cancellation terms?

Answer:

We use industry standard cancellation terms for boutique tour operators. You can read our terms and conditions here.

Question:

Does your company carry insurance?

Answer:

We carry General Liabilty Insurance on CapeRace Cultural Adventures Inc., a Newfoundland & Labrador incorporated company. This does not cover you if you are injured, become ill, or have to cancel your trip. It's important that you are properly insured when you travel. Travel insurance can be purchased for as little as $100 per person per trip through most banks.

Question:

The preservation of the environment and responsible travel is important to me. What is CapeRace doing to minimize the damage tourism does to a destination?

Answer:

The key to responsible travel is found in the Traveller’s Diary. Using new information technology we can professionally demand-print induvidual travel guides. This has several impacts: First, it allows the travel guide to be updated in near-realtime, to the point that we print a new book for each customer. As CapeRace and our customers meet more interesting people, and visit more unique places, we evolve the guidebook to ensure the next traveller’s experience maintains originality, spontaneity, and authenticity. Second, and of most importance, the guide allows us to adhere to sustainable travel practices as it ensures that the traveller's collective seasonal footprint on the specific destination is minimized, and the distribution of economic benefits are spread wider. With less concentrated intrusions we are protecting the platform upon which the travel experience occurs by minimizing the tourism-based cultural erosion. Newfoundland & Labrador being a largely undiscovered and unexplored place allows the Traveller's Diary to change often throughout the season as new people and new experiences are uncovered. Across the ten-day trip almost all experiences are by chance and the outcome is what the traveller makes of them. We do not stage the cultural interactions they will have rather we place them in the situation to have them. This gives the traveller choice and removes frustration and disappointment found in traditional tours stemming from unpredictable and often uncontrollable events such as the weather, mood, and operator incompetence.

Trip Extensions

Extensions

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Price

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Spend a day living off the land with Lori. Enjoy a coastal lunch made over an open fire.

Experience our food, culture and people. Join Lori, a third generation Newfoundlander, to walk and forage through our woods and onto our beaches.
She'll prepare some heritage foods around an open fire; sharing traditions about the food culture of our place. Depending on the time of year, you can look forward to sampling Labrador arctic char, moose, mussels, cod or smoked mackerel. This is one of Newfoundland and Labrador’s most treasured traditions: The Boil-Up. It simply means a spot of lunch and a cuppa tea boiled up over a fire. 3-4 Hour duration. Hiking, limited bathroom facilities. Children under 8 years of age $50. I hour drive from St. John's. Subject to availability.

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$161 CAD

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Add a night at Fogo Island Inn

This year Fogo Island Inn has created a three night minimum stay between July 1st and August 27. If you plan to purchase a CapeRace Culinary + Fogo Island Inn trip between those dates please add an additional night.

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$1875 CAD

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Cod Fishing

Newfoundland and Labrador has a close connection to the Sea. It is built upon a tradition of not just fishing, but building little wooden boats in the shed over a long cold winter. The fishing families of Petty Harbour have kept their harbour free of gill nets. Even today, cod is fished by hand, one by one with a single line and hook. Experience this proud tradition. Find the location of a fishing berth that has been kept secret from father to son for generations. Catch your cod, learn to fillet, and then prepare your own pan fried cod with scrunchions. We partner with a non-profit organization that is a non-profit social enterprise dedicated to living, sharing, and celebrating the traditional fishing knowledge and culture that sustained generations of Newfoundlanders.
Important Note- The recreational fishery season dates are announced in May. Once booked, we will schedule your outing and will update you on the fishery season open and close. If your trip does not fall within the dates we will refund your payment. This non-profit will sell out, and it operates on a first-come first-serve basis so it's important to book early.

If you are on a CapeRace package that includes the Fogo Island Inn you can upgrade your room from the Labrador Suite to the Family Suite. These suites offer possibilities for two to four persons. Family suites can be configured with a sitting room, a second bedroom, or a workspace. All have a bath, walk-in shower, and wood stove.
*CapeRace does not mark up Fogo Island Inn rates.

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$2400 CAD

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Customize Your Guidebook

CapeRace travel experts will spend as much time with you as required to customize your Traveller's Diary. While the guidebook is written by us specifically for the CapeRace trip, we can further customize it to suit your specific travel style. The guidebook would be demanded printed for your exclusive use. We can also plan your itinerary and make recommendations for trip extensions to Gros Morne and Labrador, as well as make suggestions on flights.

Contact Us

While you can book a trip directly on line with us, we're also happy to chat at length by phone about traveling to Newfoundland. Even if you do not travel with us you'll discover lots about about planning your trip. We're happy to give you the inside scoop. Indicate a time to call and we'll give you a ring or simply send us an email requesting information.